Lockbit Ransomware Attacks Jasman Automotive in Mexico
Jasman Automotive fell victim to Lockbit on the 21st of this month. According to the note posted by Lockbit itself, the victim has time to negotiate the ransom and terms of payment until the 25th, same month.
- Jasman Automotive is a considerably large automotive company
- The victim didn’t comment publicly on the event, but it is presumed that their operations are frozen
- Lockbit is known to demand hefty ransoms and rarely lower the ransom’s value
- The group tends to adjust the value of the ransom to the victim’s capabilities, which is why they are rarely willing to negotiate
Lockbit currently ranks as the number one most dangerous and prolific ransomware actor on the market. This recent attack is just a small sample of what the group can do. Lockbit exploits system vulnerabilities and relies on StealBit to exfiltrate the stolen data.
The organization typically gives the victim several days to contact them on their TOR network and discuss the payment options. If that doesn’t happen in that time window, Lockbit will publish the leaked data publicly for free.
Jasman Automotive preferred to stay out of the public view since the attack, focusing on restoring their systems and negotiate with the attacker. Given that Lockbit didn’t attach any follow-up to their original post, it is presumed that the negotiations are still ongoing.
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Who Is Lockbit and How Does It Operate?
Lockbit first hit the public stage in 2019 and kept a low profile for a while. But its activity quickly ramped up, especially starting with 2021. By 2022, Lockbit was already voted as the most prolific ransomware actor in the world.
A staggering 44% of the total number of ransomware attacks were attributed to Lockbit, making up for over 1,700 attacks worldwide. According to some estimates, Lockbit amassed over $91 million in ransom payments.
One of the reasons for Lockbit’s success is its ability to innovate and adapt. Lockbit has upgraded its systems and approaches several times over the years. Their first major breakthrough came in the form of StealBit, which automated the data exfiltration process.
This came along with Lockbit v2.0, followed by Lockbit v3.0 in June of 2022. The organization kept the 3.0 version in beta testing for 2 months, during which they invited security techs to test their system. The goal was to find hiccups and correct them.
Lockbit offered monetary rewards between $1,000 and $1 million, depending on the services they’ve received.